Forced Remembrance
by BlitzVonKrieg
Summary: A Dark Kingdom General now resides in Crystal Tokyo. After a series of events he begins a journey. Is his destiny to destroy or save the city? And what of his past will be revealed?
1. Dead Men Do Tell Tales

Disclaimer: If I didn't make it up, then I don't own it.

There will be many elements from different shows, though some of said shows will not be featured, I just had the idea to use certain parts.

Forced Remembrance

Year: 3100

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Prologue - Dead Men Do Tell Tales

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San Francisco, California, United States

Status: Nearly uninhabitable

Climate: Desert

Average temperature: 120 degrees Fahrenheit

Average yearly rainfall past 100 years: 4 inches

Population: 50 civilians, no militia, 200 military personnel

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London, England

Status: barely inhabitable

Climate: Desert

Average temperature: 90 - 110 degrees Fahrenheit

Average yearly rainfall past 100 years: 6 inches

Population: 150 civilians, 150 militia, 300 military personnel

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Moscow, Russia

Status: inhabitable

Climate: temperate

Average temperature: 80 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit

Average yearly rainfall past 100 years: 2ft

Population: 300 civilians, 200 militia, 500 military personnel

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Beijing, China

Status: readily inhabitable

Climate: temperate

Average temperature: 80 - 90 degrees

Average yearly rainfall past 100 years: 2.5ft

Population: 600 civilians, 400 militia, 1000 military personnel

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Crystal Tokyo, Japan

Status: Excellent

Climate: temperate

Average temperature: 70 - 85 degrees

Average yearly rainfall past 100 years: 3ft

Population: 95,000 civilians, no militia, 5000 military personnel

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END STATUS CHECK

General August Endsley sighed in frustration as the computer rattled off the daily world status report as it had done for the past hundred or so years. Gus, as his friends knew him, stood at six foot tall, had brown hair, blue eyes, white skin, and wore a grey uniform. At his left hip was an Army saber, at his right, a twenty-two caliber revolver. While he was only eighteen years old in appearance, Gus was over two thousand years old. Formerly a Dark Kingdom General, he was now the average citizen of Crystal Tokyo, with somewhat of an average job. His job was to simply listen to the computer's status check three times a day, and compile a report at the end of every week, and for convenience he had a link to it put into his home computer. While he really wasn't supposed to, he still wore his old Dark Kingdom uniform, though, he didn't wear it with the same pride that he had once, now he wore it as if it were average clothing. Jacket unbuttoned, shirt untucked, shoes unshined, the look of the average punk kid pretty much.

"Huh... I really don't see why they have me do this. It's been exactly the same since I started doing this a hundred years ago." Gus said as he took a piece of paper and pen and began to write his report for this week. Today was Sunday after all, "And the report always says the exact same thing. I don't see why they bother with it more than maybe once every two or three months, other than to give me something to do. 'Course, then again, it's not like anyone really does any more than skim through them anyway." Gus sighed again as he looked over at the nearest wall.

On the wall were some of Gus's most personal items, three of which were flags. The first was the flag of the Dark Kingdom, a grey background with an inverted black crescent moon in the center. The second was his personal battle flag, it had a black background, a blue vertical crescent moon, and a golden yellow five point star where the rest of the moon would be -not very large, about double the size of a star on the U.S. flag-, and had gold tassels hanging on the edges of the flag. The third flag was strangely enough, an old confederate battle flag. Gus never knew why, but the look of the 'stars and bars' seemed enchanting to him, and he finally bought a flag. Then there was a picture of a tank. Nobody except for him, and possibly Sailor Mercury, knew what it was, even though it was a terror when it was still in use. The tank was a German PzKpfw VI Tiger II Heavy Battle Tank, the feared King Tiger tank, from World War Two. While one hasn't been seen in over one thousand years, Gus still used it as a symbol of power when he had men at his command.

Gus however was soon stirred from his memories when the doorbell rang. Gus looked at a color security monitor in the room, and saw that it was Hotaru Tomoe, most know her as Sailor Saturn, but she'd always preferred Gus to think of her as a friend, and to call her Hotaru. Gus started calling her by a nickname. She accepted it, heck, she'd never really minded it. With raven colored hair, violet eyes, somewhat pale skin, and standing at about five foot eight inches tall, wearing a purple t-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers, she looked to be about seventeen years old, but in all reality, she was still about a thousand years old.

"Hey 'Taru! Door's open, come on in!" Gus said happily, "I'm in the computer room."

Hotaru opened the door to Gus's house and walked in, closing it behind her. The inside of the house was nice and neat. It was mostly drab, walls were painted white, and it had a hardwood floor for most of the house, save the bedrooms and living room. The house was a two story house with eight bedrooms, four baths, a kitchen, a living room, a basement, and attic. The computer room, as Gus called it, was actually an add-on to the house that could be reached through a short hallway. Some liveliness was brought to the house by old photos -most of which from when Gus was still in the D.K. military-, sketches, old battle maps -some of victories, others were losses that Gus kept replaying in his head to see if he could have changed the outcome-, some gun racks with the guns on them -even though Raye had told Gus time and time again that he wasn't supposed to have weapons. As if he'd ever listen to her.-, medals, a folded up flag -supposedly from the funeral of a close friend of Gus's, and various other things gave the house life. Hotaru made her way to the computer room, where Gus was waiting, and entered when she came upon it.

"Hey there 'Taru. How ya been?" Gus asked as she entered, and he returned to his report.

"I've been pretty good. How about you?" Hotaru replied happily.

"Not too bad. Any specific reason for the visit?" Gus asked as he wrote.

"No, not really, but since I was on my way, Raye told me to tell you that she wants to have a word with you. She didn't say what for though." Hotaru said as she looked at the wall with the flags and pictures. While Hotaru knew that the Dark Kingdom was the Moon Kingdom's worst enemy, she also knew that it hadn't always been that way. In a way it had a sort of old southern charm at one time, long ago, and that's the way Gus always seemed to act too. At first she hadn't really been interested in Gus's military career, really though, who in the Moon Kingdom would be? He was fighting them after all. Then, one day, over a dinner in the palace that Gus had actually been invited to, and shown up for, it came up in conversation about the final military battle against the Dark Kingdom, where, though nobody at the time knew it, Gus had lost his friend, the one that flag's for.

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"Yes, it was a grand victory." King Endymion said happily at the memory.

"Yeah, we sure showed them!" Lita added, holding up her drinking glass.

"It couldn't have been any more perfect!" Raye added with a wide grin.

"Ooh... yippee. Hurrah..." Gus let out pretty unenthusiastically.

"What's bothering you?" Mina asked in one of 'those' tones.

"Nothing." Gus breathed, almost sighed, out.

"There's something bothering you." Michiru pushed.

"No there ain't." Gus said, with a slightly southern accent.

"Gus, just tell us." Amy insisted politely.

"I said there ain't nothin' both'rin' me!" Gus raised his voice slightly.

"Don't raise your voice to us." Haruka commanded.

"And who're you to tell me what to do?" Gus challenged.

"Calm down Haruka. Now, Gus, would you please tell us what's wrong?" Setsuna said.

"There ain't nothin' wrong!" Gus said as he jumped to his feet, his chair fell backward, and slammed his hands onto the table, "I shouldn't have come here!" He said, and stalked off.

"What was that all about?" Mina asked of nobody in particular.

"You're all forgetting something." Queen Serenity began, "You've forgotten what side he was on. And by the looks of things, we hit a sore spot."

"We? You didn't say anything. It's not your fault." Lita said to her.

"That's the point, I should have stopped you all from pressing." Serenity said.

"May I be excused? I think I'm going to go try and talk to him." Hotaru asked.

"You may. And tell him I apologize for this." Serenity said as Hotaru stood, and left.

Luckily, Gus hadn't left the palace yet. He was just down the hallway, on a balcony. Hotaru tried to walk up slowly, so as not to make him leave again, but...

"Hello Hotaru." Gus said as she came up as silent as possible.

"How did you...?" Hotaru trailed off as she came next to Gus on the balcony.

"After you've seen and done the things that I have, you start to be able to do that." Gus smiled, and gave a quick chuckle, as did Hotaru, "So what's up kid?"

"Kid? Where do you get 'kid' from?" Hotaru asked.

"If I'm twice as old as somebody, they're a kid to me. And that includes Serena."

"You mean, Queen Serenity."

"No, I mean Serena. Queen or not, I'm still HER elder, not the other way around."

"That's true, but I still have the looks!" Serenity chuckled from behind, startling Gus.

"Jesus Christ! Tryin' to give me a heart attack or what?" Gus shouted in surprise, when he realized who had said it, "And what's this about you havin' the looks?" he joked.

"Oh nothing." She smiled, followed by Gus and Hotaru, "But I'm here to apologize for what happened in there. I should have told them to stop pressing."

"No, no. I should apologize to you for interrupting your dinner." Gus said.

"That's alright, between you and me, it was getting boring anyway."

"Well, good thing I was here to liven things up then." Gus smiled.

"Hey, uh, Gus, if you don't mind my asking though..." Hotaru trailed.

"What was I upset about?" He finished her question.

"Yeah." Hotaru replied.

"In that last battle, I lost my best friend. I'd known him since we were kids, and we'd both wanted to get into the military, then when we did, it was like a dream come true. But it didn't go exactly as we had planned. I ended up getting promoted above him, but that didn't really matter that much, in fact, he became my right hand man as my second in command. But as all dreams do, this one came to an end that day. Since then, I haven't talked about it." Gus explained.

"Why didn't you?" Serenity asked.

"There was nobody to really listen until just now." Gus smiled, as did Hotaru and Serenity.

"So are you going to come back to the dinner?" Hotaru asked.

"If you don't want to you don't have to." Serenity added.

"I think I will, if'n a'course her majesty will permit it." Gus smiled at Serenity.

"Of course you can, and you might as well call me Serena, you already did." Serenity said

"Alright then, shall we return?" Hotaru began, and motioned to the dining room.

"Let's." Serenity said, and they headed for the dining room.

Upon returning to the dining room, Gus apologized to everyone for his behavior, and explained about losing his friend. He also apologized directly to Haruka for his insubordination. That surprised everyone, especially Haruka...

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"Well, I'll go talk to her once I'm done with this report. That way I can give it to her then and not have to make two separate trips." Gus said as he seemed to scribble on the paper.

"Are you even writing?" Hotaru asked.

"Yeah. I've written this same thing so many times, I don't even have to think about it anymore." Gus smiled as he finished writing.

"Done already?" Hotaru asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Anything you want to do after I talk to Raye? It's only noon." Gus asked.

"Nothing I can think of right now."

"Well, maybe you'll think of somethin' in a little while. Let's go see Raye." Gus said, and off they went, headed for Internal Security's (I.S.) main headquarters, "We can take my car."

The two headed for Gus's garage. They reached the garage, and Gus opened the door. Inside was Gus's car. A 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. If you're wondering how he has a car this old, you have to remember, he's over two thousand years old, and there is a such thing as vacuum storage. Anyhow, it was painted royal blue, same shade as the crescent moon on his battle flag, on the side was painted the number 02 in white and black, on the roof was painted a rebel flag and the words 'The Raptor' above the doors. Under the hood was a V-8 426 Hemi, and in the car were all the creature comforts you could ask for, except maybe a TV, or something super extravagant. The rear license plate read 'CNH 220', and the front one was a picture of the Dark Kingdom flag. Completed with a short black spoiler on the back, police car push-bars on the front, and BF Goodrich tires, this car RULED! The only thing that put some people off, was the fact that the doors had gotten jammed shut, so Gus had them welded shut and sanded down so that you couldn't tell from the outside. Gus Helped Hotaru inside the car through the window, he hopped in, and then they were off...

About ten minutes later, due to the fact that there was virtually no traffic, Gus pulled up and stopped the car in front of I.S.'s H.Q. and went inside, along with Hotaru, to meet Raye. After about ten minutes, most of it walking, and riding the elevator, they made it to Raye's office on the top floor of the twenty story building. Raye had been expecting them, so she wasn't surprised when...

"Hey Raye!" Gus shouted as he and Hotaru entered the room.

"Yeah, hi." Hotaru added, slightly embarrassed at Gus's display.

"Must you do that whenever you come into my office Gus?" Raye asked with a sigh. She stood at five foot eleven inches tall, hair and eyes almost matching Hotaru's, just slightly darker eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned, and she wore a white uniform, with the I.S. patch on the shoulders, and a star on both tips of the collar to signify that she was the commanding officer.

"Yeah, pretty much." Gus smiled.

"Now hold on, what's this? A sword, and a gun! Didn't I tell you-!" Raye began.

"Yeah, yeah. I know! I'm not permitted to have weapons." Gus interrupted.

"Then why do you have them? Ever since you set foot into this city, you've had a blatant disregard for not only my rules, but the LAW as well! If Serenity didn't pity you so much-!"

"Shut up! I didn't come here to be snapped at! Now what do you want director?"

"Fine. All I wanted was your report, and... Though I'm embarrassed to say it, Serenity has asked me to ask you for some help in the security grid."

"Oh? Like what?" Gus asked.

"Where our men's stations should be around the city. She wants it properly defended."

"I'm sorry. I can't help you there. This city will never be properly defended so long as it doesn't have to worry about fighting, and due to your queen's abilities, it won't have to."

"Be that as it may, OUR queen requested I get your help."

"You forget something madam director, I don't take orders from HER, YOU, or ANYONE ELSE! I'm not a member of her council, hell, I'm not even a citizen of this kingdom!" Gus shouted.

"Calm down you two!" Hotaru shouted, and Gus stalked out, tossing his report on the way.

"Fine! I can do it better on my own anyway!" Raye shouted back as Gus left.

"Oh you two are hopeless!" Hotaru said as she ran out after Gus.

About fifteen minutes later, Gus and Hotaru were back on the road...

"So where are we headed?" Hotaru asked.

"No idea. You think of anything yet?"

"No. Nothing much to do really. After about a thousand years, you end up having done everything, and nothing new ever seems to happen."

"Well there is the baseball diamond. I need to relieve some stress, and I know that Haruka's there every Sunday right about now. Want to go there?"

"Sure! And could we pick Rini up too?"

"I don't see why not. Where would she be about now?"

"Probably at the palace, or she should be. I don't know where else to look except maybe the arcade, but on Sundays I think it's closed."

"Well, let's go to the palace then." Gus said, as they headed for the palace...

"Hotaru? Gus?" Serenity said as she spotted them walking through the palace.

"Hey there Serena!" Gus said happily, "We were hoping to pick up Rini, if it's okay?"

"Oh sure. Uh... I think she's in her room." Serenity said, pointing down the long hall.

"Huh." Gus almost gave a chuckle, "The one place we haven't looked yet."

"And probably the first we should have." Hotaru added.

"So where are you going to go?" Serenity asked.

"The baseball diamond. I know Haruka's there, and I need to blow off some steam."

"Was it Raye again?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I just had a feeling, since she was by here not long ago, and was in a huff too."

"How'd she get here before us?" Gus asked, confused.

"She doesn't have to go through all the security stuff like you did." Hotaru answered.

"True. Well, I guess we'll see you later." Gus said as he and Hotaru began to walk away.

"Hey, hold on a sec. I have an idea! How about we all go?" Serenity suggested.

"If you want to come, it's fine with me. I couldn't stop you if I wanted to." Gus smiled.

"No, no, no. I mean EVERYBODY." Serenity went out of her way to make her point.

"Oh. Alright. Sure, why no? If you can round all of them up, just meet us there."

"Okay, see you there." Serenity said, and ran off to get everyone.

"Uh, Gus, I think you forgot something." Hotaru said.

"What?" He asked.

"'Everybody' includes Raye." She said, trying not to upset him.

"Oh well. At least Serena's happy, and we have something to do. Now come on, let's get Rini and head on over to the diamond." Gus said, and soon they found themselves back at the car with and ecstatic Rini. She was five foot six inches tall, with pink hair, crimson eyes, barely tan skin, and her hair was done up in the royal hair style as always, she looked about sixteen. She wore the same thing as Hotaru, the only difference was her shirt was pink. Rini got in first with Gus's help, and sat on the back bench seat, then Hotaru on the passenger's side, and Gus got in on the driver's side. Just as he started the car, he saw a cherry-red 1969 Camaro Z-28, and immediately knew who it was.

"Well, well, Raye. I have the feeling we're going the same way, so, wanna race?" Gus said under his breath, as he revved the engine, obviously getting Raye's attention, because she pulled up alongside Gus, and revved her engine as well. No matter how much they hated each other at times, next to Haruka, they were the only drivers challenging enough worth racing. Both got their engines roaring, and Raye started the count with her horn. All the while, Hotaru and Rini were just waiting for the third horn blast, they loved these races. The third horn came, and both cars leapt forward...

About fifteen minutes later, both cars parked in the lot outside the baseball diamond, and everyone emerged from the cars, smiling. They had tied. They went into the baseball stadium, and were greeted by the smiling faces of some, and the dejected faces of others. All the Senshi were there in the stands, except for Haruka, and they were the ones smiling. The others were on one of the two local baseball teams, and down on the field. The reason for their faces, was out on the pitcher's mound. Haruka stood out there smiling like hero that just received his medal. Haruka waved up at the newcomers to the stadium as the team started packing up their stuff, and left.

"Who's my next victim?" Haruka called out to everyone.

"OOO! Me next! ME NEXT!" Mina yelled out as she rand down to the field, followed by everyone else, except Gus, Rini, and Hotaru, who just went to the edge of the stands. Everyone except Gus, Rini, Hotaru, and Haruka, were in shorts, t-shirts, and sneakers. Haruka was in a baseball uniform with golden-yellow patches and other things signifying her team.

"You sure Mina?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, come on! Put one right over the plate!" Mina shouted back, and tapped the base with her bat, then got into stance, which was somewhat off, but, oh well.

"Alright then, you asked for it. Just let me warm up first." Haruka smiled. She turned on the mound to face the speed counter. She wound up and without really seeming to try, threw the ball. The first one registered at 92mph! Everyone but Haruka stopped and stared for a minute at the readout as Haruka grabbed another ball, "That's my normal without warming up." At that, Mina's jaw dropped wide open. Haruka threw the next ball, and it registered 96mph, "Not quite there yet." Mina's jaw hung lower, if that was at all possible. Haruka threw another, and that one hit 100mph! "Still not there, but almost." Haruka said, Mina's eyes bugged out, and some of the others let their jaws hang at that. Haruka threw the next ball, and it hit 105mph!! Mina did a face plant, and Haruka laughed at the sight as she turned to face her 'victim', "Ready?"

"Uh... yeah." Mina said as she got back to her feet and spat out the dirt.

"Here it comes!" Haruka said as she threw a fast ball. Mina swung too late and it just whizzed past her.

"Strike one!" Gus said as he came down with a glove and face mask.

"Here comes the next ball Mina!" Haruka warned as she threw another fast ball. This time Mina swung too early and it went past unaffected. Gus caught the ball in his glove, which he had put extra padding in, thank God for tissue paper.

"Strike two!" Gus said, and threw the ball back to Haruka.

"Last one Mina!" Haruka threw the last ball, and Mina was ready for it, or she thought so anyway. She was ready for a fast ball, but Haruka threw a curve ball instead. Mina missed it due to the change of course at the last second, and Gus caught the ball.

"Strike three! You're out!" Gus announced and tossed back the ball.

"Mina's out! Who's next?" Haruka said with an evil grin.

"I'm up! I'll hit it for sure!" Raye announced and stepped up to bat.

Then Haruka pulled out an old baseball trick. She threw the first ball right at Raye, who ducked to dodge it, the next was a curve ball, then a fast ball, then a ball that seemed to spiral around on its way. All three Raye missed. Next was Amy. Then Lita, Michiru, Setsuna, Hotaru, Serenity, Endymion, and Rini. Every time they all stuck out, and it went on like this until about six o'clock when the sun started to go down...

"I think it's about time to head back." Serenity said, and everyone started grabbing the stuff they had brought, but Gus went over and picked up a bat, most likely Endymion's, and held it for a minute as he walked over to home plate. As Haruka was walking out to the field, he called her out...

"Hey Haruka! I'm callin' you out! Let's see if you can strike me out!" Gus shouted. Everyone seemed to just stop what they were doing without even realizing it. Haruka stopped in mid-step and pivoted around on her heels.

"What was that?"

"I'm callin' you out!"

"Alright, you think you're so hot huh? Let's just see how good you are." Haruka said as she walked back to the mound and readied herself to throw the ball.

"Bring it." Gus said with a smile.

"Do you think he knows what he's doing?" Lita asked.

"I hope so." Hotaru replied.

"He better know how to duck if she does the same thing she did to me." Raye said.

"This might not end so well." Endymion said as they all looked on.

"Why not?" Rini asked.

"We have a Dark Kingdom General at bat, and Sailor Uranus pitching. Run the numbers on that and tell me how many different things can go wrong." Michiru said as it began.

Haruka wound up for the pitch, and Gus tensed, ready to slam it out of the park. Haruka, however, had other things in mind. She threw the ball as hard as she could, about 110mph, straight at Gus. Gus didn't duck though...

"Spirit Gun!" Gus quickly freed one hand of the bat, made a gun shape with it, and a royal blue ball of energy flew out, disintegrating the ball on impact, "How about a straight pitch over the plate, if you wouldn't mind? Fast ball preferably, and no funny business this time."

"How did you do that?!" Haruka asked in surprise.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Gus answered.

"Alright. One right over the plate. Fireball, comin' up!" Haruka said as she picked up another ball. This time, she threw it as hard as she could, and right over the plate. Gus swung... And connected! The force behind the bat, and the speed of the ball made it sound almost like a gunshot. The ball flew high and far, and...

"It's going." Mina started.

"Going..." Serenity continued.

"Going..." Rini said as it soared.

"GONE!" Hotaru shouted as the ball went over the billboards on the other side of the field. Everyone, out of actually wanting to, or not, cheered at the sight, and then laughed as they again looked at the field, only to see a fuming Haruka throwing down her baseball cap and jumping up and down on it, and a laughing Gus dancing like a Russian backwards from first to second base, and laughing at the same time.

"Hey! ... Hey! ... Hey! ... Hey! ... Hey!" Gus laughed.

"Come here you!" Haruka yelled as she charged at Gus.

"Oh shit!" Gus shouted, turned, and ran for his life, Haruka on his heels.

"Got you!" Haruka jumped onto Gus's back, "This is what anyone who can hit that ball gets! SUPER ATOMIC NOOGIE!!!" Haruka shouted and laughed as she rubbed her balled fist on top of Gus's head at subsonic speed.

"Ouch! Ow! Stop! Get off!" Gus shouted, but to no avail. Everyone in the stands was near tears from laughing at the sight when Gus dropped to his knees, and Haruka stopped the noogie. Gus looked up at her on his back, "Are you going to get off now?"

"No." Haruka began the noogie once again, and everyone laughed all the harder, except Gus, who had an idea. He shuffled his feet, kicking up tons of dust, and then dropped on his back. Haruka let go, and when she sat up...

"Hey? Where'd he go?" She shouldn't have asked. From behind her, he put his arm around her neck, and began the noogie once again.

"Ah! My head! Stop! I surrender! UNCLE! UNCLE!" She shouted as everyone but her laughed now. After he felt enough payback had been served, he stopped and let go. Though he was now laughing and almost out of breath. Gus fell onto his back and looked up at the by now star filled sky. Haruka stood up and looked down at Gus from above.

"Need a hand?" Haruka said, offering hers.

"Sure, thanks." Gus accepted, and was hauled to his feet almost instantly.

Gus and Haruka walked back to the stands where everyone was waiting.

"You two done now?" Michiru and Hotaru chorused.

"Yeah, we're done." Haruka and Gus answered with a laugh.

"So are we all heading back?" Endymion asked.

"Actually, I had heard that there was a meteor shower tonight." Amy said, "There's the first one now!" Amy said, pointing into the sky.

Everyone looked into the sky and saw the beautiful sight as it passed in the sky.

"Remember to make wishes." Rini reminded.

A few minutes later, it was over. Everyone felt pretty good about how the day had gone. This city, the capitol of the Crystal Millennium, Crystal Tokyo, truly was paradise.

"So what did you wish for Gus?" Hotaru asked.

"I made two actually. But it doesn't matter. It isn't possible unless you can bring back the dead. And I'm sure that nobody can." Gus said, then let out a sigh as he headed for the car.

After dropping off Rini and Hotaru at the palace, Gus headed back to his home. He opened the garage, parked the car inside, shut the garage, and went into the house. After getting inside, he took off the jacket, put it on the rack and slipped off his shoes next to the couch. He plopped down on the couch, grabbed the remote control, and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels, and didn't really see anything to his liking until he found CMT (Country Music Television) and the Top 20 Countdown with Lance Smith had just come on. He decided to leave it on, even though by now he had seen every one of them due to the fact that there weren't any country artists, and there hadn't been any for about eight hundred years. But not only country was gone, so was southern rock, rock, and most anything close to rock. There were no new artists, and all be it as it may, there wasn't much music listened to in Crystal Tokyo, or television watched. The arcade was a popular place during the week for students just after school, but other than that, not many kids played video games. Everyone was always outside doing something, having fun. Gus would get out every once in a while, but the computer had him tied down somewhat, because he had to listen to it three times a day. It didn't seem to bother him though, and he did it without complaint.

Gus decided to get something to eat, seeing as how he hadn't eaten all day, and went into the kitchen. When he got there though, he noticed something strange. There was literally a bread crumb trail leading to the computer room. He followed it, not knowing what to find.

When he got to the computer room, he saw the computer on, which wasn't too strange, he had left it on before he left, what was strange, was that Microsoft Word was on the screen, and there was a note written to him! How was it possible? Someone would have had to get in the house in order to write it. But how? And who? Hell, why for that matter? He decided at this point that the note probably was the reason for getting in, so he began reading it.

"Hello Gus. It would appear that you've become quite attached to this city. Hm, I never thought I'd see the day when my ranking officer would take up residence inside one of our enemy's cities, much less the capitol. Oh! And not to mention befriend the Moon Kingdom's Sailor Senshi and Monarchs! Quite the accomplishment there bud. Anyhow, if you truly care about this grand city, and I believe that you do whether you want to admit it or not, prepare its defenses. An attack will happen twenty years from this day. I am only giving YOU this information. If you choose to accept this task, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. And I hope that once its all over, you'll forgive me for what happened so long ago, and for what is happening now. You truly were, no, ARE my best friend. Good luck.

Your friend,

-Colonel David Frederickson Atlas

P.S.: I ain't the only one back, you should make your wishes more carefully."

"There's no way." Gus whispered, "Dave? It... It couldn't have really been him. This must be some type of sick joke! Dave's been dead since that day! That flag is from his funeral!" Gus shouted into the air, then, an idea struck him, "There is one way to find out." He stood from the chair, and went into the living room to where he had kept the flag, "My God, the flag's gone, it's real. He's back. The only reason that would be gone, is someone didn't want me to have his flag, and the only person that wouldn't want me to have his flag would be him. He even told me not to keep it so I would only think of the good times." It finally started to sink in what this all meant, and it was none too good, "If he's back, then so are the others. And if they are, they'll try to destroy the city. Warning the Senshi, or even Serenity and Endymion will do no good." Gus sighed, "Looks like I'll have to help Raye with those plans after all."

And so it begins...


	2. Leaving Paradise

Forced Remembrance

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Chapter One - Leaving Paradise

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Nineteen Years Later...

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"Hey Lanny, need that report in half an hour." Gus reminded as he walked past a room with a computer and other equipment in it.

"Will do boss!" replied a voice from the room.

"Say Janice, you got that new recruitment roster for me?" Gus asked as he walked past a row of cubicles.

"Not quite, but I should pretty soon." Replied a young woman.

"Well, as soon as you get it, send it over to I.S.H.Q., and have them route it to Haruka."

"Yes sir!" she happily replied.

"Ah... Sundays. I used to almost hate having to worry about that report." Gus smiled as he entered his office. A lot can happen in ten years, and even more in nineteen. The next day after Gus saw that strange note on his computer at home, he went to I.S.H.Q. and to Raye's surprise, started helping her with the new security layout, but he didn't stop there. He also got Lita and Haruka in on this. Then he got Michiru, and so on, until everyone was a part of it. Everyone was assigned some type of job, some were simple, others more complicated. Haruka was put in charge of assigning recruits to their different platoons, pretty much paperwork as to what they were to be trained to do, and also to be a drill instructor. Lita was put in charge of combat training, where Haruka did help somewhat with weapons like machineguns, rocket launchers, grenades, and other military weapons, while Lita handled hand to hand. Michiru, Amy, and Raye were set to analyze the walls and other built-in defenses around the city. Most everyone else's jobs were to pretty much just help where they could. Gus's job however had changed somewhat. After about two years, Gus asked Serenity he could have I.S.H.Q. modified to house enough computer systems to operate everything from one location. She approved, but everybody still seems to be spread out, though they all meet there at least once a week. Since this little operation was expanded, the civilian population in Crystal Tokyo has gone to 180,000 and the military has swelled to 20,000 soldiers. The Change in Gus's job was instead of watching the complete status of every city, now he watches the population types (civilian, militia, and military). Strangely enough, he wanted to do it. Of course, he was influenced by a certain note. What he was concerned about however, never happened. He had been worried that there would be military build-up, and that that would have been where the attack would come from. However, the build-up never occurred. All in all, Gus was beginning to think that maybe it had been a joke. Something should have happened to imply the attack. Hell! There was only a year until the attack was to occur, and nothing had happened. Gus was about to forget it, and just say that it would never happen, then he turned on his computer screen...

"Oh my God. Not a joke. Never mind." Gus said as he looked at the screen. On it, was another note. The first one since the note that started this. It read:

"Hello again Gus. Guess who. Anyway, there's only one year left. Just thought I'd remind you. You've done pretty well. The military has quadrupled, and the civilian population has almost doubled. However, comparatively, the military strength defending this city it still underwhelming. It would be utterly crushed. However, there is one way to get it boosted. Attack the city before the real attack comes. You know I'm right, and you know that the Queen could fix whatever damages are done. It's the only way to save the city. If you want to know how, just think about what you do. You monitor the military status of all those cities. You could go out and get them. Tell them that Serenity has forgotten them, and indeed, she has. You wouldn't even be lying! Get the military and militia from enough cities, band them together, get them into top form, and come back! It's the only way to convince enough people to join up. Good luck.

Your friend,

-Colonel David Frederickson Atlas

P.S.- There are a few people you can get help from, and one of them was a General, think about it."

"He's right. Talking to them will do no good, but maybe I could trick them. And I still have a few people I can count on. Doug and Sam, they'd help me, and so would Alice and Tina. Now, what did he mean by a General? Wait! That's right! Only three died! I know what I'll do. It's time that this city was made into the superpower it's supposed to be, and it's time for Serena to remember her people that weren't saved by the grace of this city. It's time that this world was set straight to the course it started on so long ago." Gus almost mumbled to himself as he pressed the power button and the computer died. He stood and walked out the door, plastering a convincing smile on his face, "Hey Jake, can you take over here? I need to go do something."

"Sure, I can take the reigns." Jake replied.

"Thanks. See ya 'round." Gus said, and left the building.

Inside the palace, Raye had the day off, and was spending it visiting Serenity. They were having tea, and talking about miscellaneous and pretty much random things. Old memories, and hopes for the future, and anything and everything that didn't involve work. However, it quickly changed when Raye suddenly had a vision...

"Oh my God!" Raye suddenly shouted.

"Raye, what is it?" Serenity asked with concern.

"I just had a vision." Raye answered, seeming to be in somewhat of a shock.

"What was it? Is something wrong?" Serenity pleaded.

"Something is going to attack the city. I don't know what. All I saw were very quick flashes. Random images. Some during the attack; some seemed to have nothing to do with it."

"What was the attack like? Did it look like a power? Or did it look like weapons' fire?"

"Weapons' fire mostly, but there were some attacks. I didn't recognize them though. I... I think I need to go meditate. Maybe if I can do a fire reading or something it'll be clearer."

"Alright. Tell me if you find anymore out."

"I will." Raye said as she hurried out.

"An attack. Now? It's completely the wrong time! The Black Moon Family was defeated over one hundred years ago, and the Sailor Wars ended before that. It makes no sense. And who would dare to attack this city anyway?" Serenity thought aloud.

"Hey Doug." Gus said into his cell phone, "You feel like gettin' back into the service? ... No, I was thinkin' somethin' else. ... I mean gettin' some of our own troops. ... Just meet me at my place, and get Sam and bring him too. ... Oh, and uh, do you still have that C-130 XM 26? ... Good. We're gonna need it. Anyway, meet me at my place in about, say, three hours? Alright see you then. ... Bye." Gus walked over to his car, and started for his house.

Raye had begun the fire reading, but it didn't seem to be helping much until she was able to slow down the images. Then she was able to discern what was going on in them. Two massive armies beating the living hell out each other, one in white uniforms, the other in blue. The next was of what appeared to be the final battle against the Dark Kingdom, it showed this large wheeled vehicle, an A.P.C. (Armored Personnel Carrier) getting hit by an artillery round. Then there was one that looked like a young man with grey/silver hair in shackles, then more images started to flood her mind again, too fast to tell what they were, until the last one came. At first it was totally black, but got slightly brighter, a dark shade of blue, then came the silhouette of a woman with long hair, all the way to the floor, but her hair shrank back to about her lower back. Then came the silhouette of another woman standing next to the first, long hair in two braids that touched the ground. Her hair shrank back as well, and came undone about her upper back. Then the two of them vanished and it was over. Raye came out of her trance in somewhat of a shock and awe state. She wasn't sure what all of it meant, but the wheels were already turning in her quick mind. She decided to go meditate on what she had seen, and left the fire.

The three hours had passed, and Doug and Sam were at Gus's house, along with Gus, Alice, and Tina.

Doug Hemmer stood at five foot eleven inches tall, had brown hair and brown eyes. His skin had a slight tan, he looked about eighteen, and he looked quite American seeing as how he had a bandana on top of his head that looked like an American flag. By trade he was an expert swordfighter and sniper, and had known Gus for quite some time. Most people knew him as a mercenary, but what not many knew was, he was actually one of Gus's battle commanders, as was Sam.

Sam Bandares had the same hair and eyes, but stood at five-ten and his skin was slightly deeper, and he looked about seventeen. Another definite American, Sam only looked the part due to his attitude. He was dressed like the average person's thought of what a cowboy looked like, though, he was a gunslinger after all. By trade he was an expert with pistols and knives, and had a knack for using explosives and many types of traps.

Alice Endsley stood at five foot nine inches, had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin had about the same tan to it as Doug's, and she looked about nineteen, though she was about as old as Gus, and was the best mechanic anyone could ask for, able to fix almost anything. She was Gus's wife, and Tina was their daughter.

Tina was as tall as her mother, had blue eyes, but she was a brunette, like Lita. Her skin wasn't very tanned, but it had a tint to it, and she was eighteen years old, and looked it, but had stopped aging there. She was the best longbowman around, and loved her father dearly. They had all just settled down when Gus walked into the living room.

"So Doug, Sam, how've you two been?" Gus asked as he sat in a chair.

"I haven't been too bad. Killclean Creek has me as sheriff right now." Sam answered.

"I've been getting along alright. Nothin' too great though." Doug said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I have something that may change that." Gus gave a sly grin.

"Oh? Like what?" Doug's interest was peaked, and Sam had his ears open.

"How'd you like to have a command again?" Gus asked.

Doug and Sam looked at one another out of surprise for a second, then answered "Sure!" in chorus, with smiles.

"Dad, I'm getting the feeling there's a catch somewhere." Tina said.

"Well, sort'a." He gave a nervous smile.

"What is it?" Alice asked.

"Well, for them to get their commands again, well, we sort'a... kind'a... gotta, attack the city." He looked around at everyone's gaping features.

"Are you completely insane!" Sam shouted.

"Attacking this city is suicide!" Doug added.

"Why would you want to do that anyway?!" Alice asked.

"And where would you get any troops?" Tina asked, being the calmest.

"Sam, Doug, do you guys remember David?" Gus asked.

"Yeah." was Doug's curious answer.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"You'll never believe this, but, he's back, and so are three of our old 'friends'." Gus said.

"They can't be. They've been dead, some of them, for more than a thousand years!" Doug retorted, not wanting to accept the fact.

"I second that!" Sam added.

"Who's David?" Alice asked.

"An old friend of dad's. He never told you?" Tina replied.

"No, I didn't, but, she never asked." Gus told Tina, "But Alice, if you really want to know, he was a friend of mine for a very long time, and he was my second in command. His rank was Colonel, and he died in the last battle between the kingdoms." Gus explained.

"Alright, but what's Dave got to do with this?" Sam asked.

"I had a feeling someone would ask that. I'll be right back." Gus said as he got up, and headed for the computer room. Not but a minute later, he was back, two pieces of paper in hand, "This is what he has to do with it Sam." Gus said as he handed one piece of paper to Sam, then the other, "He's warned me of an attack on this city twice. The first paper is a note he left nineteen years ago this very day, and the second one, he left today."

"Did you see him?" Doug asked as Sam handed the papers to him.

"No. I didn't see him either time. But I believe him." Gus said.

"Sounds like something Dave would write. Good enough for me." Doug said, handing the papers to Tina.

"Me too. It makes sense that he would warn an old friend, but why does it sound like he's on the other side in this?" Sam asked.

"I think he might be." Gus said, with a solemn expression.

"Then why would he tell you dad?" Tina asked as she handed the papers to Alice.

"Not too sure, but ole Dave had a strong sense of loyalty, so maybe he is trying to help. So who all's in?" Gus asked.

"Right here." Doug said, putting up two fingers.

"I second that." Sam said.

"Sounds like it could get interesting. I'm in too." Tina smiled.

"What about you Alice?" Gus asked.

"Gus, am I your wife?" Alice asked, walking up to Gus.

"Yes." Gus said, confused.

"Then you have your answer." Alice asked, and gave him a kiss.

"'Yes' is now officially my favorite word." Gus said with a smile.

"So what's the first step here General?" Doug asked.

"How'd you and Sam get here?" Gus asked.

"The Xm-26." Doug answered.

"Do you have any reliable contacts inside the city?" Gus asked.

"Not any more." Doug said.

"I do." Sam corrected.

"Good. What I want you guys to do, is fly out of here until you're out of radar range. Then circle back in stealth mode and touch down at the abandoned airbase to the north of the city. Sam, can your contact get you guys inside the city?"

"Easily."

"Good. Once you're in, come back to my place. Another question, could they get you out?"

"Yeah."

"With a car?"

"Pretty sure so."

"Alright then. Now, Alice, do you still have clearance to enter the hangar where my old space fighter Hermes is stored?" Gus asked, looking at Alice.

"Yes."

"Would you be able to get in there without anyone else around?"

"Yeah, I think I could."

"Would you be able to prep it?"

"Of course."

"In one night?"

"I'll be tired the next morning, and all I can get for ammo is gatling gun ammunition, but I could do it, no problem."

"Good. That's your job."

"What about me?" Tina asked, feeling left out.

"Yours isn't one of the essentials, but is a good idea none the less. Is the college's computer network system still linked to the main communication grid?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure it is dad."

"Perfect. Your job, my little hacker, is to shut down the radar system and primary anti aircraft batteries surrounding the city."

"Simple." Tina smiled.

"Alright then. Let's all get some sleep. We'll put this into action tomorrow."

The next day came, and everyone began their parts. Doug and Sam headed for the airport, Tina headed over to the college, Alice went to the hangar, and Gus went to his office...

Gus walked into the building acting as normal as possible, showing no intention of his plans at all. He walked through the building to the elevator, and took it to his floor. He got off and headed for his office, passing the usuals and saying hello as he went. Once inside his office, he shut and locked the door, turned on the computer, and put in a CD. Then he began to download the population status check onto the CD. Once done with that, he printed out a copy of the status check. Then he grabbed a CD case, and a briefcase that was in the room, and put both the printout and the CD (now in the case) into the briefcase. After this, he left the room, having Jake take over as he left the building, headed back to his place.

About three hours later at the college, Tina had managed to slip out of the main flow of students, and into the computer lab. She disconnected the security cameras, and put the security system for the room on a constant loop. She hacked one of the terminals, and hacked her way into the main comm. grid, then, finding the military frequency, hacked through the firewalls and other security blockers, and implanted a specially designed custom sleeper program into the radar system and primary anti aircraft batteries around the city. After doing so, she shut down the computer, not caring if the hacking could be traced back to the computer lab, for she would be long gone, and nobody would know what she had done until it was too late. She left the computer lab, headed for her next class, nobody the wiser that she had been gone.

Later that night, Alice had hung back at the air base, and had gotten into the hangar where Hermes was stored. The Hermes, painted navy blue and numbered Zero-Three, was a Dodge Charger 2567 R/T XSF 03, and the only one ever made at that. The fighter design was based on the body of a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, and when compared side by side, though they do look quite different, you can see the similarities. From stem to stern it measures forty feet long, eight feet wide -twenty including wingspan-, and ten feet tall. Powered by three Marlin-Merlin Magic thruster engines that put out 250,000 pounds of thrust each, without the plasma, standard, or dual injection afterburners, that can (in atmosphere) push the ship to Mach 8. The secondary propulsion system is made up of an E.M.P. thruster (basically a magnet that pushes the ship along) that can make the ship clip along at Mach 2 (in atmosphere). The top speed, in atmosphere, is Mach 10, if the afterburners are engaged. For offensive operations it's armed with two 13mm gatling guns that fire depleted uranium rounds -one on each side of the nose-, a 20mm gatling laser in the nose, a 30mm gatling gun turret under the nose that fires depleted uranium rounds, 4 rocket pods that hold homing rockets that total 100 (25 per pod) -one on each wingtip, and one under each wing-, and a 7.62mm gatling rail gun that fires depleted uranium on top of the nose. For defensive purposes its titanium/steel polymer armor is 2.5cm thick, it has dual layer Titan Mk. V shielding for defense against energy weapons and missiles, it has a point defense anti missile laser system to defend against any missiles the shield can't handle, and its shielding is specially designed to distort space around the fighter for a short time, providing a cloaking device effect that is very handy indeed. Now, if you're wondering how anyone could take all the G's that come along with Mach 8, well… they can't. However, the pilot of this doesn't receive the effects of Mach 8, they don't even feel Mach 1. The reason that this is true, is the fact that the cockpit has its own gravitational field that disperses the effects. Alice had just finished loading the ammunition, and was booting up the operating system. It was all going smoothly, and nobody suspected a thing. Alice finished with the operating system, and shut it down. As she left the hangar she made sure to leave no trace of her actions to be found.

Earlier on in the day, Doug & Sam had made sure that everything that they were supposed to be leaving with was on the plane. They'd come in under the guise of an out-bound mercy flight going to one of the border cities to drop supplies. Serenity herself had seen fit that the plane be packed with supplies –rations, water, clothes, & such-, if only she knew where this stuff was really gonna be going. After everything was loaded, Doug & Sam made sure to make enough room for Gus's car, & left. Their 'mercy flight' to be headed out late the next day.

About two o'clock in the morning, everyone met back up at the house, for some well deserved, and needed, rest...

"Tonight we leave." Gus said the next morning at the breakfast table.

"Why don't we leave right now?" Doug asked.

"One, we have to wait for you flight to go out, and two, I need to go back and get the other half of the population status checks. I was only able to get half yesterday." Gus answered.

"Alright, sound like a plan. Now I have question though." Tina said.

"What?" Gus asked.

"I gather that Sam & Doug here are coming back for your car, me, & mom, but how're you getting out of the city?" Tina asked.

"Hermes. Though how to plan to get to it?" Alice said looking between the two.

"I'll just borrow Raye's patrol car." Gus said with a sly grin.

"Perfect." Gus grinned as he looked out the window of his office at five o'clock. From his vantage point he could see the XM-26 take off & fly out of the city. It had begun. He'd have about another two or three hours before they were in stealth mode, on the ground, in the city, & driving the Raptor out with Alice & Tina. Before he'd walked here he'd loaded up the car's trunk with all of his weapons, ammunition, & extra clothes for himself, Alice, & Tina. He figured that Doug & Sam had food & their own clothes so that was of no concern. He was just now downloading the rest of the population stats for the cities & was going to download maps & plan-out what route he was going to take along the way. He had already decided that they would start at San Francisco & go east. Doug, Sam, Alice, & Tina would be arriving in San Francisco ahead of him because he was going to go bust out an old friend for extra help. Also, after he was finished downloading everything he felt would help him, he was going to implant his own little sleeper virus into I.S.'s mainframe to shut down the entire place. Erase all of the searches & everything he'd run to gather his information, destroy the evidence of the routes he planned on taking, & shutdown communications between I.S.H.Q. & all agents & other forces worldwide. He'd throw everything into chaos & by the time the mainframe was operational again, he & the others would be long gone, not to mention that the virus would still be in the system, waiting. When the mainframe was rebooted & they tried to destroy the virus, it would split & allow the main percentage of it to be destroyed. However, a piece of the virus would remain & alter population status of cities, & if they tried to track Gus & the others it would scramble communications, shut down satellites, & do everything possible to throw them off without making itself too unreliable. The fact was that the virus would probably cause them the shut down the mainframe permanently if Raye got fed-up enough with it. "Now that would be perfect." Gus smirked at the though. "If they did that they'd never find me & the others." Then Gus thought about something else this virus would do. "This should shut down the city's automated ground defensive systems as well. Their main hub is attached to the mainframe. That's why Tina had to go through the channels to shut-down the Anti Aircraft defenses, they aren't here. I'd never thought of that little bonus. Raye's gonna be _pissed_."

Two hours later Gus was packing up all the CDs he now had information on & all the printouts he'd made for immediate reference, when he got a call on his cell phone.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Yeah Gus, it's me, Alice. The four of us are heading out now."

"Alright. I'm headed to the hangar."

"Okay, good luck."

"Who needs luck? I've got plenty of skill to cover for that little absence."

"Let's just hope your skill isn't rusted over."

"Really… See ya in a while."

"Alright, love you."

"You too."

"Bye."

"Bye." He replied, & hung up. "Here we go." He said to himself as he finished loading up his briefcase with the papers & CDs, locked it, & grabbed his laptop case as he walked out. As he left the building, he once again passed the baton to Jake. Just before getting to the elevator it began to open & through the crack he saw red high heels. He only knew one person who wore those shoes: Raye. Before the elevator could open enough to show him, he got to the stairs & began to go down to get on at the next floor. Now all he had to do was hotwire Raye's patrol car.

Raye stepped out of the elevator & headed for Gus's office. She knocked on the door & stepped inside, expecting to see Gus on the computer. To her confusion, the computer was off & Gus was oddly absent. She went back out of the room & began to look for Jake.

"Madam Director?" Jake said as he spotted her.

"Oh, Jake, just who I've been looking for. Have you seen Gus?"

"You just missed him."

"Blast it all. Know where he was going?"

"No, but he was carrying a briefcase the last couple days. He goin' somewhere?"

"Not that I know of." Raye said. This was strange. "Thanks Jake."

"Yeah, sure." Jake said as Raye walked towards the elevators & hit the down button. The elevator had just gotten to the ground floor.

Gus walked quickly out the front door towards Raye's parking spot & saw exactly what he'd been hoping he would: Raye's patrol car. It was an SL55 AMG "Pursuit Special", painted metallic white with the hood painted black, & a wide black stripe that spanned the width between the headlights that ran from under the front to under the back fender. The windows were tinted black & on the front window in white near the top was the number: 001, & on the rear window were the letters: C.T.P.D. (Crystal Tokyo Police Department). The white license plate read: CTPD001, in black. The car also had white-wall tires. This was how he was to get to the hangar.

Gus opened the door, Raye for whatever reason always left it unlocked, & to his utter disbelief & luck, saw the keys in the ignition. Smiling to himself at how torqued Raye would be when she figured everything out, he fired up the engine & headed down the street, turning at the first intersection, still chuckling to himself at what he supposed would be Raye's reaction.

Meanwhile, Raye had just come out of the elevator on the ground floor & looked to her left & right, hoping Gus was still here. To her dismay he was not, & she walked outside. She walked to Gus's parking spot on the right of the building, again hoping that she'd find him, but she soon found that the car was absent.

"Must've gone home already. Rats." Raye mumbled to herself & began heading for her car. Then she got to her parking space. "Where the hell is my car!?"

Halfway to the storage hangar, Gus began to hear radio chatter.

"Calling all units! Calling all units! This is Madam Director Hino of Internal Security! My patrol car has been stolen! I repeat, my patrol car has been stolen! The perpetrator is currently unidentified. If you spot the car, stop it!" Raye shouted into the radio at I.S.H.Q.

"Damn. I forgot there was a radio there. Oops." Gus chuckled to himself.

"How'd that happen Madam Director?" This was a smart-ass patrol officer Gus had met.

"How the hell should I know Ricky?! Just find the car!" Raye shouted.

"She's this angry already? God. How will she be when those viruses kick in? I'd hate to be anyone that gets in her way when they do." Gus laughed as he drove. Then sirens blared.

"Madam Director, I've spotted the car. It's headed east on the main drag!" Ricky radioed.

"All units, converge on the east quarter! Get my car back!" Raye ordered, & suddenly cars began peeling off every side-street in the city.

"Time for some fancy driving!" Gus said as another nine cars came up behind him to join Ricky in the chase. Gus floored it, hoping that Raye's car wasn't just 'off the shelf' like the rest of the cars in the department, & indeed, it wasn't. Ricky's car began losing ground as were the others as Gus pulled ahead.

"Madam Director, you forgot something!" Ricky radioed.

"What!?" Raye snapped.

"Your car is faster than ours!" Ricky shouted.

"Did I forget to mention that? Sorry…" Raye said, not humbled.

"This is too…easy." Gus began happily, but then saw the roadblock ahead of him in front of the river. "I forgot about the river! How could I forget about the river? I knew they should have made a bridge here. Maybe I can go around." Gus said, looking at the side streets & alleyways, only to find police interceptors blocking every one of them. "Or maybe not." Then Gus looked at the dash & saw something that looked out of place: the silhouette of a fork. "What's this?" Gus said as he pressed the button below the silhouette. Immediately four long nearly flat spikes came out from the front fender of the car at a forty-five degree angle & four shorter ones came out the underside. "What the hell are those for? Wait. I know exactly what they're for! Now did she equip this thing with… There it is." Gus said as he found the button for the NOS injection. Gus kept his hand over the button & looked back up. He aimed the patrol car for the center interceptor of the roadblock that was turned sideways, & hit the NOS. The car rocketed off towards the roadblock, & the police officers scrambled away. The patrol car slammed into the interceptor, flew into the air, & over the river. As the car came down the spikes automatically retracted. The car landed, having well cleared the river, leaving the interceptors behind it in a stupor.

"Madam Director, we lost him." Ricky radioed as he looked at the interceptor-turned-ramp.

"How?" Raye asked.

"He just jumped the river using these spike-things on the front of your car."

"I never got a chance to use those!" Raye shouted in dismay then thought: 'At least I know they work now.'

"So those are for that? Sweet." Gus said as he neared the airbase & hangar, noticing more interceptors coming around the river behind him. "Gonna have to be quick."

Gus parked the car outside the hangar & ran inside. There Hermes sat, just as it had for the last hundred years. It never had looked better though. Gus even thought it looked happy to see him. He laughed at the thought, & climbed inside the cockpit. "Thank God for the lax security." Gus said to himself. That was something else he didn't quite understand. The Moon Kingdom used to have the tightest security around, but now he was able to just drive right onto a military airbase. "Well, they haven't had to worry about this sot of thing. Makes sense I guess." He mumbled as he ignited the engines & engaged the anti-grav hover system.

Hermes rose off the ground to hover in the center of the hangar as the onboard computers & weapons systems began to kick-on. The cockpit closed & Gus was somewhat awe-struck. He hadn't flown in so long, the controls had all but left his memory. He started to fiddle-around with the controls, going side to side, up & down, & forward & back. Once he got the hang of the flight controls, he immediately recognized the weapons' controls.

Outside the hangar, interceptors were gathered on the sides & Raye had gotten there as fast as she could. They all looked to the patrol car that was parked in front of the hangar, unable to tell if there was someone inside.

"Has anyone gone & checked?" Raye asked.

"No." Ricky replied.

"No? Well go check!" Raye ordered.

"Fine, I'm going." Ricky replied, grabbing his flashlight.

Inside the hangar, Gus only now realized he hadn't opened the hangar door.

"Oops. Oh well. I'll just make my own door." Gus said as he put his finger on the trigger.

Outside, Ricky had just finished circling the car & was on his way back.

"Yeah, it's fine, nobody's in it." Ricky shouted, halfway back.

"Then where did they-?" Raye began, but was soon answered as hundreds of bullets began flying through the hangar door, & into her car. Ricky bolted back to the gathered police cars & stood shaking behind Raye as they all watched the scene. Bullets turned both the hangar door & car into Swiss cheese & then stopped. A second later, the car blew sky-high. "Oh my God. WHEN I FIND OUT WHO DID THIS I'LL-!" The threat was let hang in the air though, as Hermes tore out from what remained of the hangar door.

"Who in the hell-!?" Raye began.

"HEY RAYE!" Gus opened the cockpit & shouted with a smile. "BYE RAYE!" he said, closed the cockpit, & darted off toward the city's perimeter.

"Madam Director, what's our course of action?" Ricky asked.

"BLOW HIM OUT OF THE SKY!" Raye shouted, & Ricky ran over to his interceptor & got on the radio, contacting the military defensive network & telling them to activate the defenses.

"Hey Tina, you there?" Gus sent over his communications link as he flew.

"Yeah Dad?" Tina replied.

"When's your virus gonna kick in?"

"It should be activating right now." She said, & sure enough it did. As the anti-aircraft batteries around the city began to activate & target Gus, the virus kicked in. The radar system was shut down completely, & the anti-air batteries began to sputter & die, their radar link severed, & their ammunition loading mechanisms jamming. Following immediately behind Tina's virus was Gus's which shut down the ground defenses & communications systems. Gus smiled as he passed over the city walls without interference.

"What's going on?" Raye asked back at the hangar, when no missiles were fired, & no AA guns began blasting at Gus.

"I don't know. I can't get anyone on the radio. It's like the whole grid just went offline." Ricky said, smacking the radio, trying to get it to work.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS GUS!" Raye shouted into the air as they were hit by a sonic boom from Hermes' afterburner.

"Hey Doug, Sam, you all head for San Francisco. I'm headed for D-Point to use the wormhole to get Jay." Gus radioed as he flew alongside the XM-26 a few miles from the city.

"Roger that. See ya in Frisco'." Doug replied.

"Right." Gus finished as Hermes bolted forward toward the Arctic, & the XM-26 turned toward San Francisco.

"I think I may need to wake up a few more than Jay." Gus said to himself as he flew forward toward D-Point. The entrance to a place he hadn't gone in over eleven hundred years.

OBJECTIVE ONE ACCOMPLISHED…


End file.
